The Lawyer Inquiry: Stephen Tupper

Stephen Tupper was born in 1958 in Malta. He is currently the London-based partner of the European law unit at Hammond Suddards.

What was your first job?

Gardener "No. 5" at the Manor House Hotel in Castle Combe.



What was your first ever salary as a lawyer?

A brief fee of £40 for an off-licence application at Camberwell Green Magistrates Court.



What would you have done if you hadn't become a lawyer?

Landscape gardening.



Which law could you live without?

Any piece of legislation with the word "tax" in it.



What was your most embarrassing professional moment?

Explaining to a magistrate that no matter how loud he shouted he was still unlikely to persuade my double-amputee Rastafarian client that he should stand up in court.



What car do you drive?

Toyota Previa.



Which famous person would you like to go out with?

Margaret Thatcher.



Where would you go to eat?

A fine restaurant in the heart of her darkness Brussels.



What's the best thing on TV?

Third Rock From The Sun.



Which movie do you wish you'd appeared in?

A Room With A View.



What's your most often-worn piece of clothing?

I am still working on the statistical analysis but I think it is my pair of brogues.



What book(s) are you reading at the moment?

James Hawes' Rancid Aluminium and Boris Pasternak's Doctor Zhivago.



What is your all-time favourite record?

Louise B Armstrong's Wonderful World.



What piece of advice would you give to anyone entering the profession now?

Never, ever, allow yourself to think that you know it all.



What do you like about yourself?

My instinctive ability to look on the bright side of life.



What do you hate about yourself?

Intolerance of anyone who refuses to look on the bright side.



Where would you most like to be right now?

Narnia.